I have done many 1031, and never did a Reverse 1031 and was advised by the Qualified Intermediary that they are more difficult and expensive. 

Deduct mortgage interest, property taxes, travel, and operational expenses.

I think I'll start out where I live and probably branch out outnof state once I build my knowledge and experience. 

The calculator is a LIVE excel with multiple tabs and all of them are interconnected, you may mess up a formula and you will see awesome returns inaccurately.

Now these are seen as both risky and exorbitantly expensive to comply with all of the nuance in the PLRs. 

Our next big objective is to eliminate our housing expenses by purchasing a triplex or fourplex using my VA benefits.

I have yet to have a guest ask for a refill or mention the quality (I tried to pick a nice-looking, not-too-expensive brand).Be careful with the scents -- I had a run of people pulling out and hiding the scents and one or two people complained that they were scent-sensitive in private notes. 

I would start close to where you live personally. 

I'm imagining something more like add a wall, turn a bedroom into a kitchen-living on one side and a formal dining room into a bedroom on the other side, maybe add a half bath in each unit.

Setting up an LLC may allow for deductible expenses, and investing in municipal bonds could provide tax-free interest.This post does not create a CPA-Client relationship.